As Digital DJing is evolving, DJs are looking for new ways to improve their DJ setups, and are looking for new Hybrids of technology to use when they’re performing live and in the studio. Being a Traktor specialist, I frequently get DJs coming to me asking me “How can I get Audio from Traktor into Ableton Live?” After endless hours of research and troubleshooting at Camp Morales (David Morales’ house), I’ve figured out a great way to do this that works flawlessly if done correctly.

By routing Audio from Traktor into Ableton you can not only use Ableton effects over what your playing in Traktor, but you can also record each deck of Traktor into its own Audio channel in Ableton. Your Ableton Session will be in perfect Sync with Traktor, so any tempo changes that you do in Traktor will be recorded into Ableton Live! If you’re using time based effects in Ableton, they will sync to whatever your playing in Traktor, and if you’re recording audio from Traktor into Ableton, all of your Audio will line up perfectly on Ableton’s grid, saving you hours of having to warp marker your DJ mix after the fact. Please note – before following this tutorial you should first follow my previous tutorial on How To Sync Ableton Live & Traktor.

If you have an extra out (if your using the Traktor Audio 10) you can use your extra output for the preview player, so you can prelisten to tracks before you load them into a deck.

6) Open Ableton Live

7) Configure Your Ableton Live Audio Setup by going to the Ableton Live Preferences.

In the Ableton Live Preferences – Audio Your going to choose your Audio Input Device and Output device. For the Input device select JackRouter. For the Output Device Select whatever Audio Interface you normally use to DJ (such as Audio 8 DJ or Audio 10 DJ).

Click on Input Config and turn all of your Stereo Inputs on

Click on Output Config and turn all of your Stereo Outputs on

8) Make your Ableton Session

In Ableton Live, create five (or four) Audio tracks by clicking on “Create” and “Insert Audio Track” or using the key command, Command-T. Name the Audio tracks Deck A, Deck B, Deck C, and Deck D. If you have an extra output on your soundcard (such as the Traktor Audio 10) you can make another Audio track and call it “Preview” for Traktor’s preview player.

Set the “Monitor” for each Audio track to “In” so you can monitor the sound coming into each Audio track in Live.

Turn the Recording buttons on for each Audio track by holding the command (Apple) key down and clicking on the record buttons for each audio track. This will allow you to record each deck separately inside of Ableton Live.

Save the Ableton Live Session

9) Configure the send and receive ports of Jack OSX

Go back to Jack OSX and click on “Routing”

Before I continue, it is important NOT to double click anything unless I tell you to. If you do double click on something you might have to restart this whole process so be careful!

In the “Send Ports” section, click on the dropdown menu next to “Traktor”

In the “Receive Ports” section, click on the dropdown menu next to “Live”

For Each Input in Live you are going to SINGLE click on the input (ex. In1) and then DOUBLE click on the corresponding output in Traktor (ex out1). Follow these steps very carefully

Single click Live in1, Double Click Traktor out1

Single click Live in2, Double Click Traktor out2

Single click Live in3, Double Click Traktor out3

Single click Live in4, Double Click Traktor out4

Single click Live in5, Double Click Traktor out5

Single click Live in6, Double Click Traktor out6

Single click Live in7, Double Click Traktor out7

Single click Live in8, Double Click Traktor out8

Single click Live in9, Double Click Traktor out9

Single click Live in10, Double Click Traktor out10

Once your done doing all of this, Save your Jack “Studio Setup” by clicking on File – Save Studio Setup in Jack. This way when you open Jack in the future you can load this setup rather than having to do it over manually again.

10) Test to see if we’re getting Audio from Traktor into Live

Play a Track in all four Decks in Traktor, and then switch to your Ableton Live Screen. Make sure you are getting Stereo inputs into every channel of Live. If you did everything correctly, and your playing a track in every Deck in Traktor, your screen should look like this:

In Traktor go to the Master Clock Section and turn the Play Button on. Then in the Master Clock Section, press the Sync Button to start Abletons “Grid” at the beginning.

Play a Track in all 4 Decks in Traktor

In Ableton hit the “Tab” button to go to the arrange view. If everything is working correctly you should be recording each deck separately into its own audio track in Ableton! This is what your screen should look like:

Congratulations! You have just Syncronized Ableton Live and Traktor, AND Routed the Audio from Traktor into Ableton!

Now that you have everything Syncronized, and have saved your Ableton Session for using with Traktor, and have also saved your Jack OSX Studio setup, here is the correct order in how you open all of the programs when starting the gig:

1) Open Jack Pilot

2) Open Traktor and choose Jack Router as your soundcard, and make sure your output routing is in “External Mode.” All of the output routing should already be confifgured correctly

3) Open Ableton Live and open the session you made for using with Traktor

4) In Jack OSX click on Routing, and “Load Studio Setup”, and load the studio setup you saved.

5) Click on the EXT button so Ableton is receiving MIDI clock from Traktor

6) Make sure Traktor’s Master Clock “Play” button is turned on so Traktor can send MIDI clock to Ableton

7) Click on the “Sync” button in Traktors Master Clock.

8) If you’d like to Record each Deck into Ableton you can click on the Record button in Ableton and each deck will be recorded separately.

Happy Mixing!!!

- DJ Endo

DJ Endo and DJ Shiftee are the designers of Dubspot’s upcoming Digital Djing with Traktor program, which you can find more details about below. You can listen to his mixes on SoundCloud, follow him on Twitter, & find him on Facebook.

Three levels / 12 sessions / 21 hours of hands-on instruction + labs

The definition of DJing has changed dramatically in the last decade. Laptops, controllers, and software have emerged alongside more traditional turntables and CDJ’s, smashing the barrier to entry. In today’s digital age, anyone can become a DJ.

Courses:

Digital DJing w/ Traktor Pro 2 Level 1: Introduction to DJing

Digital DJing w/ Traktor Pro 2 Level 2: Phrase Mixing

Digital DJing w/ Traktor Pro 2 Level 3: Beyond The Beatmatch

To reflect this renaissance, Dubspot has created the Digital DJing with Traktor program. In both our physical and online schools, students will learn how to DJ entirely with Traktor’s cutting-edge technology. An emphasis will be placed on the concepts of DJing rather than simply learning how to use the software. Starting with a historical overview, students will learn the fundamental concepts of the DJ via Traktor’s intuitive interface. They will then begin to delve into the vast array of new possibilities offered by this groundbreaking software, recording their work along the way. Students will leave with finished DJ mixes, a thorough introduction to DJing with Traktor, and a skill set and knowledge base perfect for further development.

Once again.. impressed! You always keep us up-to-date even we’re not registered students. Thank you

Raggio

3/28/2011

maybe windows users can use JAck Audio. But we need help to configure it Endo please!!!

Milgauss

3/28/2011

Would love to know how to do this with an S4 (ie in internal mixing mode) to get all the Traktor channels into Ableton post-fader. In the current Traktor s4, you can hack external mode on, but then you loose the ability to control the mixer with the s4.

DJThirdShort

3/28/2011

Windows!
Is there an alternative to the JackRouter?

Claudio

3/28/2011

I have quite a spontaneous question, DJ Endo may help me to solve…

I tried this set up a few years ago. It is extremely good for routing and using additional effects and instruments during a Dj/Live set, but assuming that the signal is then going from the ableton channels into a mixer, they then the tape channel should be back into ableton in order to record the mixer movements and its audio, but you should then use the 9/10 input channel to record the entire set, thing that makes the routing into Ableton of the CUE completely pointless…Problem is that unless you have a fully loaded mac 17 inches, the whole process would suck a huge amount of CPU and bring drop outs into the session…

any way to avoid them?

morumbi

3/28/2011

I would love to see some way to use it with the s4 too! Got it running, but it’s pretty annoying, that you can only map the s4 faders to live in midi mode :(

Soop1979

3/28/2011

ASIO4ALL for Windows audio routing. A bit flaky tho as doesn’t do all what JACK does on Macs!

Why did he use Jack Audio instead of soundflower? It’s been my experience that JACK uses a lot more memory and as the video showed the interface is rather confusing. For those asking about windows, there is a windows version http://jackaudio.org/download

Buka

3/28/2011

on Win use Virtual Audio Cable instead Jack

sander kroeze

3/28/2011

Endo let me help you wright a tutorial for windows!

Ramirez

3/28/2011

Great but the timecode can’t work if your using jack audio

Kinetik

3/28/2011

for everybody interested there was a post on djtechtools over a year ago on how to do this in windows. Google is your friend ;)

alternative to jackosx windows would be a good start ;)

GrooveSchool – How to sync

3/28/2011

[...] Ableton with Traktor [...]

Mike Huang

3/28/2011

I managed to follow the tutorial completely but when i hit record, it does not do anything. I do get sound from ableton’s channel. But I Do not know if im sending midi properly to ableton. Any suggestons?

Mike Huang

3/28/2011

Actually I managed to sync the midi clocks together and now I am able to record with ableton

This hangs for me at step 5 when I get to selecting Jackrouter in Traktor. Beachball of doom. I’m using the NI Audio2DJ. Is this even possible with this soundcard?

alex

3/28/2011

Will this work for my s4 ??? does the mixer faders still work then????

G1nner

3/28/2011

Great video Endo – if you’re working from a Mac!

I have been trying to fix this issue and find solutions for months, now that I have upgraded to Traktor Scratch 2 I am more keen than ever to have this running into Ableton Live 8 but there is no info anywhere on how to do this. Has anyone managed to do this?

I did find details on old postings from BentoSan’s Smart Mixing tutorial but using Asio4ALL, Virtual Cable & MidiOX has proved to be a huge problem in Windows 7, making it very unstable indeed. Traktor v2 crashes in the preferences section when you try and change to external mode for output routing preferences.

So any help here on this would be a huge bonus – not just for me but I guess there are thousands of other Traktor & Ableton users the world over working with Windows PC’s who would really benefit from this long standing – and dare I say long overdue issue to be resolved!

Regards

G.

DJ Tranz

3/28/2011

I agree with all of you I managed to sync Traktor and Ableton so it can be synced and running on my APC 40 with my behringer DDM 4000 however, I am having several problems. Ableton plays on the same channel as my turntable on channel 1 on my mixer. I have to set the levels on my APC40 in order to to monitor the channels in Ableton. When I play a song in Ableton and synced with Traktor, if the speed has a lower BPM and I back spin Ableton and Traktor slows down to that BPM whether it’s fast or slow backspin. I am also looking for the router for windows as well. If someone has a way to do this send me an email to theoriginaldjtranz@gmail.com. I guess we need a Windows Vista 64 bit version.

[...] you could use the same software in your studio and at your gigs – and it is also possible to sync Traktor Pro 2 and Ableton Live so you can really blur the boundaries between DJing and [...]

futureGlue

3/28/2011

Hello Endo, Great tut as always & it works!

I would love to know what are your hardware and latency settings for PLAYING LIVE.

IE what are your fail-safe settings for your hardware profile. I’ve had a few crashes with this setup (my mac is up for an update). Crashes in the bedroom are no biggie but in front of a bar full of people….

I would love to know what you consider a SAFE SETUP.

Cheers from Montreal!

sabs

3/28/2011

awsome trick sat up till 5 this morning, i noticed a couple of things you still have to hit that beat in traktor plus not being able to manipulate the tempo on the fly as traktor dosent remotely increase abletons tempo.

sabs

3/28/2011

when i started jack pilot i have tried all inputs and outputs but the most i can get on my interface input and outputs is 2 and 6 and you stated change these to 10

grosbedo

3/28/2011

Jack audio is officially available for Windows, it’s just that it’s a little more complicated to install.

Oops, I forgot to say that my tutorial is made for Windows 7 (so Windows users rejoice!), but it can also be transposed to Mac OSX (I’ve included some alternative softwares and tutorials).

Rube-N

3/28/2011

Is it also also possible to use the Audio 6 to sync Traktor with Live, instead of an Audio 8 or 10?
If i buy a new soundcard I’d rather buy the right one at once.

franco la cara

3/28/2011

Hi,

Can someone help me about the sync between traktor, ableton and the akai apc 40.
I’ve tryed the both video tutorials.
How to Sync Traktor Pro 2 + Ableton Live – Pt 2: Routing Audio.

The problem is when i play in ableton a loop it sounds not in sync. What do i wrong? The metronome sounds perfectly matched just the loops or beats that i import in ableton doesn’t.

grtz

Ben

3/28/2011

Will ableton record the fader actions? Aswell as the filters/effects? I know you can do this on Serato with a Rane Mixer… It records all tracks overlapping eachother and adds the fader actions with the ability to edit the lines… will this tutorial do the same? I would love to perfect a mixtape post-record in ableton!

Tiago

3/28/2011

hey man, nice tutorial!!! but i have a question…. what about scratch control or timecode setup? is it possible?
this setup will help me so much! but i like to record my mixes with timecode….
thanks!

Endo

3/28/2011

@Milgauss – Have you tried putting the S4 into MIDI Mode and using that as a controller for Ableton instead? That way you would have to MIDI map the S4 for both Traktor and Ableton but it might be worth it since you can go back and edit midi automation of your ableton faders and EQ’s and also use the S4 to control Traktors loops, effects, cue points etc. I’d say its worth a try!

For you Windows guys, have you tried Jack Audio?

@Sander Kroeze – A tutorial for windows would be great. Send it our way when you do it and we’ll repost

@Ramirez – you can actually get the timecode to work using Jack OSX if you aggregate the soundcards

@futureGlue – the recommended latency (recommended by Native Instruments) is 512 and I also always use 441000 for my Sample Rate

@sabs – if you followed the tutorial correctly Ableton should change tempo as you change your tempo in Traktor

@Rube-N yes, this works with the Audio 6 and Audio 10 as well

@franco la car – This might be because the latest update of Traktor has an unstable virtual MIDI clock send. This will be fixed in the next update of Traktor.

@Ben – no Ableton won’t record the fader movements like it does with the Bridge, and the Bridge doesn’t follow tempo changes in Traktor. So either way you kind of hit a wall. I’ve been tirelessly pushing Native Instruments to bring back Native Mix Recording with no luck.

@Tiago – the only way to do all of this , and use scratch control is by aggregating a Traktor certified mixer with Jack OSX. Traktor Bible has a great tutorial on how to aggregate soundcards.